June 26, 2008

Environmental Campaigners Admit Climbing on Plane at Airport

Five Greenpeace campaigners, including one from West Yorkshire, yesterday admitted to climbing on top of an aircraft at Heathrow Airport as part of a climate change protest.

The five volunteers for the environmental group pleaded guilty before Uxbridge magistrates to being in a restricted zone, boarding an aircraft and demonstrating in an airport.

Sarah Shoraka, Paul Della-Rocca, Frank Hewetson and Jens Loewe were given an 18-month conditional discharge, and they and a fifth protester, Anna Jones, from Leeds, were each ordered to pay Pounds 1,145.10 compensation to British Airways.

The campaigners were arrested after they climbed on to a BA plane at Heathrow Airport on February 25 and hung a banner on its tail which said "Climate Emergency - No Third Runway".